ACC Power Rankings: Week 5

Some marquee matchups reformed our ACC Power Rankings.

Sep 21, 2024; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies running back Bhayshul Tuten (33) celebrates with tight end Benji Gosnell (82) after scoring a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Lane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

How did week four shake up our ACC Power Rankings?

17. Wake Forest (1-2, 0-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 17

What they did in Week 4: BYE

The Demon Deacons had an extra week to prepare for their game against the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, a matchup between two very different teams. Wake has been abysmal through their first few games, currently holding the 108th-best NET rating in the country. If the Deacons want to win, they'll have to rely on a big game from Demond Claiborne and Hank Bachmeier through the air, but Wake could also attack on the ground, especially after you realize that the Cajuns let up 272 yards of rushing against Tulane.

16. NC State (2-2, 0-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 9

What they did in Week 4: Lost to #21 Clemson 59-35

Clemson is a good football team, but NC State looked dreadful against the Tigers. NC State let up 28 unanswered points in the first quarter alone and had no shot at returning from that deficit. The score of 59-35 is not indicative of how the game went, NC State was just completely outmanned, and the Wolfpack trailed 59-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. Like Mike Tyson once said, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth," meaning that we will find out a lot about this NC State team next week against Northern Illinois, it's hard to bounce back from a dominating loss like that--especially in a rivalry game.

15. North Carolina (3-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 10

What they did in Week 4: Lost to James Madison 70-50

How else can you describe North Carolina's game against James Madison besides exciting? There were scores left and right, punt return touchdowns, pick sixes, the whole ordeal, but North Carolina looked seriously bad against the Dukes. Again, scoring 50 points is an achievement, but certainly not when you turn the ball over five times to a defense led by a first-time defensive coordinator, and if you're Geoff Collins, how do you bounce back from a game where you let up seventy points in a single game. This game is the outlier of all outliers, but how can there be any confidence in this North Carolina team after such an embarrassing loss to a Sun Belt team, and their Victory Bell Game win streak could be on the line next week against Duke.

14. Cal (3-1, 0-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 7

What they did in Week 4: Lost to Florida State 14-9

After looking quite impressive in non-conference play, Cal disappointed in their first-ever game in the ACC. After missing Jadyn Ott and prior weeks, he and Jaivian Thomas were both back, and healthy. The Bears' offense was lackluster though, they only scored seven points and even Jadyn Ott couldn't save Cal's offense, as the Bears finished only averaging 2.9 yards per carry, and were sacked seven times by the Florida State defense. Losing by five is tough, it's especially tougher when you realize that Cal missed two field goals within forty yards. This game is not to blame on Ryan Coe though, and Mike Bloesch needs to draw up some more convicting plays past the 50 yard-line.

13. Florida State (1-3, 1-2)

Last Week (Week 4): 13

What they did in Week 4: Def. Cal 14-9

Florida State finally marched into the win column with an ugly win against the Cal Bears. The offense was ugly outside of their two touchdown drives where Ja'Khi Douglas took the offense in his hands. Outside of that, here's how the Seminoles' drives looked: three-and-out, interception, punt, punt, turnover-on-downs, three-and-out, three-and-out, and another three-and-out; the offense is dreadful. A win is a win though, and the defense shut Fernando Mendoza's offense down. Patrick Payton had three sacks, followed by Marvin Jones with two, this defense can keep this team in games, but Mike Norvell has plenty of work to do offensively, as it has looked abysmal through four games.

12. Virginia (3-1, 1-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 16

What they did in Week 4: Def. Coastal Carolina 43-24

Virginia surprised a lot of people in week 4 in their offensive explosion against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Anthony Colandrea's previous turnover problems were not apparent at all. The Cavs had nine different players run the ball, with six of those players gaining more than twenty yards. This was simply a great offensive performance from the 'Hoos, a game that shocked me and others across the landscape of the ACC. This game wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the Cav's starting unit on defense ran very well, as Virginia seemingly kept the unit on the field for the full game. There's a lot of confidence oozing out of Charlottesville, as more and more games on the 'Hoos' schedule are starting to look a lot more winnable.

11. SMU (3-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 14

What they did in Week 4: Def. TCU 66-43

The ACC was well represented this week, with newcomer SMU being one of those teams. SMU scored 66 points on the day, besting TCU by nineteen, but the Mustangs only gained 375 yards on the day, and were outgained by over 100 yards by the TCU offense, so how did the Mustangs pull off such a big win? Field positioning, turnovers, and penalties. Out of SMU's five touchdowns in the first half, three of them came on defense, with a scoop-and-score, a punt return touchdown, and a pick six. SMU was impressive on all sides of the ball, but should probably shoot to allow less than 43 points going forward as they enter ACC play. Brashard Smith is a beast, and Kevin Jennings has rewrote all of the wrongs of the SMU offense of the past.

10. Stanford (2-1, 1-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 15

What they did in Week 4: Def. Syracuse 26-24

Stanford used their bye week to their full advantage and took down the Syracuse Orange in their first-ever conference game in the ACC. Statistically, this game doesn't look as impressive as it did when watching the game, as Syracuse outgained Stanford, out-converted Stanford on third down, and outpassed Stanford, which makes this game all the more impressive. The Cardinal stayed true to their gameplan on offense and defense, which helped them jump to a 13-3 lead in the second quarter. They didn't take up a lot of plays on their offensive drives, whether that means they turned the ball over or just scored in five plays or less. This was an impressive win, especially with the way that Syracuse has looked, especially in their matchup against Georgia Tech, and in their first year, Stanford has solidified themself in the ACC.

9. Virginia Tech (2-2)

Last Week (Week 4): 11

What they did in Week 4: Lost to Rutgers 26-23

Virginia Tech could not get out of their own way this week, dropping yet another non-conference game against a Power Four opponent, and if it weren’t for Bhayshul Tuten’s heroics in the fourth quarter, this game could’ve ended much worse. It’s even fair to say that Virginia Tech looked worse this week than they did in week one against Vanderbilt. The offense has started so slow in all four of the Hokies games this year, scoring a combined thirty-one first half points this season. Whether it was the three fumbles, the interception, or the completion percentage under 50%, it was just a bad day offensively. The Hokies should expect more out of their offensive line, but for now, they’ll have to rely on a reeling Kyron Drones and an injured Bhayshul Tuten to take the offense to the next level.

8. Duke (4-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 12

What they did in Week 4: Def. Middle Tennessee State 45-17

Duke finally came away with a two-score win against an FBS team, their first since their 30-19 win against Pitt near the end of last season. Even though the Blue Devils scored 45 points, the high point of this team by far was the defense, as Duke forced three fumbles, all of which were in Middle Tennessee State's first five drives of the game, which is the reason why Duke jumped out to a 25-point lead by the end of the first half. Duke averaged 15.4 yards on each completion on offense, and the offense is coming around, although the flaws are still there. To shoot themselves into the upper echelon of the ACC though, Manny Diaz should rely on Maalik Murphy more.

7. Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2)

Last Week (Week 4): 6

What they did in Week 4: Lost to #19 Louisville 31-19.

Georgia Tech shot themselves in the foot against Louisville. Whether it was Haynes King's backward pass that turned into a fumble, a high snap that led to a blocked field goal, or one-dimensional play-calling that led to Georgia Tech only averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Haynes King can only be the leading rusher so many times, 14 carries--most of which were designed carries, for your starting quarterback is just not a viable or repeatable option on offense. Looking ahead, this game probably knocked Georgia Tech out of any ACC Championship hopes, and the secondary just has to be better on defense. The Rambling Wreck has a well-needed bye in week 5, but Georgia Tech is tied with Florida State for the lead in ACC conference losses with two.

6. Syracuse (2-1, 1-1)

Last Week (Week 4): 4

What they did in Week 4: Lost to Stanford 26-24

The magic is finally over for the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse outgained Stanford, out-converted Stanford on third down, and outpassed Stanford, but ultimately fell short to a Cardinal team that was playing its first ever in-conference game in the ACC. Syracuse kept themselves in this game, even though they expected more out of Kyle McCord, they gave themselves a chance with three minutes left in the game; the Orange needed some timely defense to shut down Stanford at the end of the game. That didn’t happen though, as the Cardinal gained yards on every play except one incomplete pass on their final drive, finishing the drive off with the game-winning field goal. Syracuse lacks the explosiveness that their offense was had, and will need that in their remaining ACC matchups.

5. Pitt (4-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 8

What they did in Week 4: Def. Youngstown State 73-17

Eli Holstein's offense showed out yet again against the Youngstown State Penguins, totaling 644 yards of offense. This game was over before it even started, and Pitt continues to look dominant. The win versus West Virginia was impressive, but frankly, Pitt could start the season off 9-0, playing games against North Carolina, Cal, Syracuse, SMU, and Virginia. The run defense was solid this week, but I want to see more improvement from the Pitt pass rush as neither Youngstown State quarterback was sacked and the Penguins were fairly explosive on offense.

4. Boston College (3-1, 1-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 5

What they did in Week 4: Def. Michigan State 23-19

Boston College's run game was back in action against Michigan State, in a 23-19 win. Treshaun Ward averaged 7.3 yards per rush, and Turbo Richard averaged 4.6 yards per carry. They forced three interceptions off of freshman quarterback Aidan Chiles, and the Eagles keep finding ways to stay in games, and found a way to win this week. They aren't the best team in the ACC, but they're good enough to hang with some of the best.

3. Louisville (3-0, 1-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 3

What they did in Week 4: Def. Georgia Tech 31-19

Louisville was too much for Georgia Tech to handle in week four, turning a 17-17 tie game in the third quarter, to a fairly convincing 31-19 win. The defense/special teams unit came up humongous in this game for Louisville, returning Haynes King’s fumble for a touchdown, and blocking a Georgia Tech field goal to essentially seal the game. Louisville’s offense was explosive too, evidenced by some insane catches by Cardinals wide receivers, but the ground game needs to get going soon enough.

2. Clemson (2-1, 1-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 2

What they did in Week 4: Def. NC State 59-35

Clemson dominated again for the second week in a row, continuing the trend of fast starts, scoring 28 points in the first quarter, as the Tigers have combined for 63 points in the last two first quarters. Dabo Swinney and Garrett Riley have drawn up some great plays in the past two weeks, highlighted by the Tigers’ first touchdown—a designed Cade Klubnik run up the middle for 55 yards and a touchdown. The play calling prowess is much higher than any other team in the league, and Clemson will definitely be a team to watch down the stretch as they vie for the Conference title.

1. Miami (4-0)

Last Week (Week 4): 1

What they did in Week 4: Def. South Florida 50-15

Miami overcame an early scare against South Florida, and easily knocked off the Bulls, scoring 36 unanswered points to finish the game. The Hurricanes are rolling, Cam Ward seems like the Heisman favorite, and Miami's offense is one of the most versatile in the country. Miami might be starting to be looked at as one of the best teams in the nation, as it is hard to argue that many teams are better. I have full faith in this Miami team going forward, and the level of talent has shown throughout the past four weeks. The 'Canes should be undefeated heading into the ACC Championship game, as their hardest game is against #15 Lousiville, and they play no other ranked teams. Miami is good--really good.